Little Rock police: Man kills 2 children, himself in apparent-murder suicide

Police are investigating an apparent murder-suicide in west Little Rock on Sunday, Aug. 20, 2017.
Police are investigating an apparent murder-suicide in west Little Rock on Sunday, Aug. 20, 2017.

Little Rock police say a man killed two children and then himself in what they believe is a murder-suicide at a west Little Rock home.

The department said on Twitter about 11:30 a.m. that officers were at the scene outside a home in the 11000 block of Birchwood Drive, west of Interstate 430.

Speaking at the scene, Little Rock Police Department Chief Kenton Buckner said officers were called about 11:20 a.m. to a report of a deceased child. Investigators later learned both children, ages 4 and 5, were dead in the house, along with a 39-year-old man who is believed to have killed them, Buckner said.

No names have been released. Buckner said the man appeared to be the father, or have a father-type relationship with the children, though he did not know if the man was the biological father.

The cause of death hasn't been released, and Buckner wouldn't say if a weapon was found in the home. The motive is unclear.

"We do not know that," the chief said, noting that officers had been called to the home before to investigate reports of domestic violence. "But we are unsure what events occurred that resulted in this."

Buckner said cases involving small children are particularly difficult for investigators and the community.

"When you have kids who are incapable of protecting themselves be the victim of something this heinous, it's very, very frustrating," he said.

The killings are the 44th and 45th homicides of the year in Little Rock.

Read Monday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

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